Cub
by Xanagar
Summary: Theo is having problems tossing pizza dough, and it's really getting to him. Of course, Casey is there to lend a helping hand. - PRJF. Boy love. Don't like, don't read. -


**Overview**

Title: Cub

Author: Xanagar

Part: One-Shot

Rating: T

Series: Power Rangers Jungle Fury

Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of _Power Rangers_. It currently belongs to Disney. I guess.

**Author's Note**

I watched the first episode of Jungle Fury, and I couldn't help it. They looked so adorable together, so I thought, what the hell.

**Warning(s)**

Well, it does contain romance (if you could even call it that) between two males. If your radars haven't flat-lined already, it's your own fault – don't complain to me.

--

This was it; he was going to do it, finally, for the first time. It had taken loads of practice, but _now_ he was _finally _going to do it. His breathing began to hasten; extending his hands into the air, he closed his eyes, and waited.

"Theo?"

The sudden dry _plunk _against his face indicated to him that he had failed. Sighing heavily, he pulled the flexible white dough off of him, and tossed it aggravatingly to the side. After weeks of training, he still couldn't toss pizza dough correctly – stopping to think about it, he probably couldn't do it properly with his eyes _open_. Leaning with defeated shame onto the counter, he decided not to answer the voice that had distracted him. He wasn't trying to be rude – at least that's what he told himself; he just wasn't in the mood. He would never be in the mood until he could achieve the seemingly unbeatable challenge that sat in front of him.

"_And besides"_, he thought to himself, "_if Casey can do it, then I should be able to do it hanging upside down, blindfolded_."

The voice called again, getting closer. "Theo?"

Theo looked up just far enough to allow his eyes to examine the nearing figure of his partner. The red ranger seemed to be in high spirits, and as he looked down at his comrade, he couldn't hide a satisfactory look of amusement.

"Still trying, I see." Casey edged in front the counter; Theo sulked, not making any effort to respond. "And from the look of things, unsuccessfully," Casey continued. "You've been stuck in here all day. Lily and I are going out for a bit. She needs a 'shopping buddy', or something along those lines."

Theo rolled his eyes in an uninterested way. Casey took note, and frowned. Theo was a boy of few words, and although sometimes his attitude got the best of him, he really did mean well. To see him so down and out, so fatigued and overcome, was hard for Casey. And looking into those dark pools of color that could be mistaken for eyes, the red ranger was sure that the fact that he was successful at the task, and not Theo, was only making matters worse.

"There's really no harm in taking a break."

Finally making an attempt at communicating with the blonde boy, Theo quietly murmured, "You don't understand. No one does."

At Casey's fearful look, Theo corrected himself. "It's just that I've _always_ perfected any technique I've taken on, ever since training under the influence of Master Mao. Even if I lingered at first, I always managed to master any challenge."

The blue ranger buried his head in his arms, and groaned rather loudly. "And yet, no matter how hard I try, I can't do it." He let out another long sigh, and rested his head on his shoulder lazily. "Maybe I've just finally found something I can't perfect. Maybe it's no use."

Deciding that watching his friend's abysmal performance was unbearable, Casey thought of how he could possibly help. Theo's pride was something he couldn't dare step on, whether intentionally or unintentionally. And deliberately making an attempt to demonstrate the proper way to toss pizza dough would only aggravate him. In order to help him, Casey would have to find a way around Theo's pride. He'd have to get a hold of the Jaguar's attention, but how? Then, he got an idea. Whether or not it would work, he did not know; but there was no harm in trying, right?

Out of the corner of his eye, Theo could see the outline of Casey moving behind the counter. At first, he paid no attention; then, a series of things began to happen, all of which had the unwelcoming effect of slowing down time to a dramatic rate, until it seemed to stop completely. Blinking obliviously, he was abruptly surprised when he felt the warmth of another body against his own, the feeling of foreign hands snaking around his, the sensation of hot breath against his ear. Normally, his instincts would have told him to retaliate. But, for some strange reason, he couldn't come up with any justification as to why he seemed to be frozen on the spot. Was it uncertainty? Or rather, intrigue?

"Here," a low, moderately hospitable voice said to him. "Like this."

Theo felt his hands slowly being lifted up, then placed confidently on the dough. He watched them accusingly as if they were possibly possessed. Forming Theo's hands into a solid grip, Casey motioned them into the air. He then allowed his own hands to move back to Theo's shoulders; he said calmly, "You're trying too hard, Theo. Just relax. Try spinning the dough to get a feel of it."

Not really sure if he should abide by the suggestion or not, Theo hesitated. He blinked, swallowed, felt his throat drying up. Casey stood firmly, having no intention of backing away, no matter how much Theo protested. One thing was for sure: he had certainly found a way to get the smaller boy's attention. Deciding to simply go along with his friend's obscure tactics, Theo slowly began moving the dough around on the cutting board in front of him, motioning back and forth, back and forth. He could feel Casey's watchful eyes on him, but thought it would be best to try to ignore them if at all possible. Then, he tried tossing the dough once more, but to no avail. Feeling frustrated, he began to wonder what the point was in all of this.

"_This is stupid. I'm never going to learn this way. I'm just not cut out for-"_

Casey's voice cancelled out any remaining thought left within him. "Why are you trying so hard, Theo?"

Moving his fingers weakly across the cutting board, allowing them to become painted in beds of flour, Theo said almost lifelessly, "It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?" asked Casey.

"_Any_ of this." He gripped the dough again, this time tighter, as if he were trying to strangle it. "When we first came here, you were able to adapt so quickly, so well. When we began working here, you were a natural. It was like you'd worked here all your life. And now that I've finally found something I can't do, you _can_ do it – so why can't I? What am I doing _wrong_?"

The neediness in Theo's voice was staggering, and the reality of the situation became apparent to Casey. Theo didn't just want to be just as good as he was, he _needed_ to be just as good. It wasn't just his pride, it was his honor, too. Maybe it was because he thought himself to be better than Casey, or maybe he was just a really tight-ass perfectionist. Faintly, Casey wondered if both explanations could be correct; regardless, Theo clearly wasn't going to stop until he was able to be just as good – if not better – than him. But even so, in this moment, Theo was tired, agitated, and looked on the verge of collapsing. And yet, Casey somehow managed to see past Theo's abnormal control issues, and see the person inside he'd grown to care for. He leaned his head closer, and buried it into the dark, spiky hair.

"It's not about what you're doing wrong," Casey began, "it's how you're going about doing it."

Theo turned his head slightly, and raised his eyebrows suspiciously. "In English, please?"

"You don't have to do this to be better than me, for starters. Because that doesn't matter; it shouldn't matter to you, either. There are so many things you can do that I could never even dream of accomplishing. Do you know that? In fact, most of the time, I'm jealous of you, too."

"You are?" Theo asked, his voice slightly more inquisitive than before.

"Don't act so surprised. You're one of the best fighters I've ever seen, and your technique is amazing. And you know what else?"

Theo was almost afraid to ask; however, he couldn't help but feel overly flattered, and his ego ate it up. "What?"

"When I was a cub, I used to watch you train all the time. And I always wished I could one day be as good as you."

Theo shook his head, unconvinced. "You're just saying that."

"No," Casey said. He placed his hands determinedly back onto Theo's, and took no discern of them when they shivered lightly. "I'm not just saying that."

He waited for a moment; when Theo remained speechless, he decided to continue. "We're all cubs at one point or another. And any time we try something new, we end up becoming a cub all over again. So we have to learn the hard way, just like we did before. We can't succeed until we fail at least once."

Theo laughed sardonically, and looked down at the cutting board again in shame. "In my case, many times."

"Try again," Casey urged before freeing Theo from his grasp. "This time, think about what you're trying to accomplish. Don't do it with beating me in mind; do it because _you_ want to."

Theo looked at the dough with intense vigor. _"Because I want to..._", he told himself. He reached over and pulled the dough closer, than began to work it into a fine circle. It felt dry and extremely cold in his hands that were now warmed by desire. The contrast made his skin tingle as he began to stretch the dough to the proper proportion. Once he had formed the correct shape, he looked back at Casey, as if to make sure he was doing everything correctly thus far. What he found in Casey's eyes was confidence, and an overflowing abundance of it. He took one last deep breath, spun the dough once, then tossed it into the air.

Casey grabbed Theo in exuberant delight. "See! You did it!"

Theo looked at the dough that had landed perfectly in his hands. He was in shock, but it was soon discarded to make room for invulnerable satisfaction. "I did it," he repeated quietly to himself. "I really did it."

"Looks like you're not a cub anymore," Casey said jokingly before letting go. As he did so, Theo felt like a part of him was being pulled away, dissected. Perhaps being too close to his fellow ranger for too long really had gotten to him, really had fried his brain. But still, he didn't like the feeling of separation as it took its toll on him.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess I'm not."

The next few moments were completely involuntary – in fact, Theo wasn't exactly sure of what he was doing until he had already done it. Once again, time slowed down, and everything else became a nonentity. In a matter of seconds, Theo found himself turning around, and slowly burying his head within Casey's chest, while wrapping his arms around him. If he had been a little more hazed, he might have convinced himself that he were holding on for dear life. Then, there was silence, and neither of the two boys dared to interrupt it.

Then, after what seemed like forever, Casey asked, "Why are you-"

"Because I want to," Theo said, cutting off the taller ranger. Even though what he was doing seemed utterly blasphemous and absolutely humiliating, he couldn't help but enjoy it. Casey's clothes carried a musky, enticing scent, mixed with the aroma of dough and flour. It was a strange combination, but one that Theo enjoyed nonetheless. On any other occasion, his pride would have prevented him from doing something like this. But now, that was all a blur. Casey watched the boy, neither confused nor severely aware. His eyes were still full of that same confidence, though, and that was all Theo needed.

The blue ranger spoke up suddenly, his voice serious and threatening. "And if any of this _ever_ gets back to Lily-"

Casey laughed; he placed a hand on the smaller boy's slightly messier hair. He had left Lily outside, saying that he would only be a minute. Looking through the corner of his eye, he spotted a bushy bundle of curly blonde hair staring at him hilariously through the window. "I have a feeling she might already know."


End file.
